Skinny Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate

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Pumpkin spice latte meets hot chocolate in this healthy recipe

If you like hot chocolate and pumpkin spice, then this pumpkin spice hot chocolate might become your new favorite drink recipe for the colder seasons.
Imagine a dessert made with pumpkin and chocolate… but in a cup and with much less calories!
That’s what this satisfying hot cocoa is about.

And as it‘s coffee-free, everyone will be able to enjoy these yummy flavors no matter what time of day.
That said, if you prefer a coffee version of it, you may also add a shot of espresso as well.

Ingredients and swaps

I crafted this recipe to have the least amount of fat and sugar possible, while still having the taste and texture of a treat.

However, if you don’t have any of the ingredients handy, you can easily substitute it for some of the choices bellow:

Pumpkin purée

Canned pumpkin and homemade pumpkin puree are very convenient to make this recipe.

Optionally, you can make this recipe with pumpkin syrup (you can check here my recipe for sugar-free pumpkin syrup).
Using syrup is probably the easiest way to make any pumpkin spiced drink.

Milk

For this recipe, you can choose your preferred type of milk.

I usually use whole milk for my drinks because I like them creamy.
But as you simmer the milk in this recipe, this hot chocolate gets quite creamy even if using low-fat milk, so that’s what I usually use for this hot cocoa (let’s save some calories!).

Sweetener of choice

Feel free to use your sweetener of choice.
Both sugar (any type) and neutral tasting sugar-free sweeteners work wonderfully to make pumpkin spice hot cocoa.
Maple syrup and date syrup also taste great.
Alternatively, you can also blend pitted dates into your pumpkin mixture (roughly 3-4 per cup, depending on the size of your dates).

My choices for sugar-free pumpkin spice hot chocolate:

I like using erytriol, xylitol or neutral tasting stevia blends (some brands get it!) for this pumpkin spice chocolate.

Pumpkin pie spice

Adding pumpkin spice (with that cinnamon taste and hints from ginger and nutmeg) is what makes you feel so warm and cozy when having this hot chocolate.
In addition of that, these spices provide some antioxidants too!

How to replace pumpkin spice:

If you don’t have pumpkin spice mix at hand, you may flavor 2 servings of this hot chocolate with:
-half teaspoon grounded cinnamon
-a big pinch of ground ginger
-a small pinch ground nutmeg
-a small pinch of ground cloves

However, to get the perfect ratio every time, I recommend making this easy recipe for pumpkin spice.

Pure cocoa powder

Pure cocoa powder is the secret to give this latte a deep chocolate taste while still remaining light on the waistline.
Cocoa powder is also known as Dutch cocoa and it’s the unsweetened cocoa commonly used for baking.

And pure cocoa doesn’t only make for an intense chocolate aroma and taste: it’s even considered a super food!

Can I replace unsweetened cocoa powder for hot cocoa mix?

If you only have sugared cocoa mix, you could switch every teaspoon unsweetened cacao for roughly (depending on the brand you use) the double amount of hot cocoa mix.
Then, you’d probably want to reduce the sugar by the same amount of sweet cacao you use (cocoa mix is for the most part sugar!).
For example – for this recipe, you may switch 2 teaspoons pure cacao for 4 tsp. cacao mix.
In this case, you might need to reduce the sweetener by 4 tsp.
Since this recipe calls for 2 tablespoons sugar (which are the same as 6 teaspoons), you would only need to add around 2 teaspoon sugar if using sweetened cocoa mix.

Dark chocolate

We (my kids and I) find that adding about 1/4 oz. (around 7 gr.) dark chocolate per serving makes for a much richer pumpkin spice hot chocolate.
But if you prefer to save some calories, you can also skip it: it still tastes great without adding chocolate.

Topping

Optionally, you may decorate with frothed milk and/or some ground cinnamon or pumpkin spice.
For a truly decadent version, top with whipped cream.

How to make keto pumpkin spice hot chocolate

It’s very easy to adapt drink recipes to your diet type, and this hot chocolate is no exception.
For a low-carb version of this hot chocolate, you only need to choose:

• A low-carb milk alternative (such as almond milk or coconut milk)
• Sugar-free sweetener (like e.g. swerve, xylitol or monk fruit)
• Sugar-free chocolate (if using chocolate)

The rest of the ingredients (pumpkin, cocoa powder, pumpkin spice and even the optional whipped cream) are already keto-friendly.

I hope you enjoy this pumpkin spice chocolate milk drink: I find it the perfect treat to satisfy your craving for a sweet treat, while keeping it relatively low in sugar.

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